As the title says, I am a newbie but have just about got everything together to start reloading 9mm. Got 3k rounds of brass on the way, 200 rounds of 147gr Montanta Gold CMJ bullets on the way (just to get started with), and now I need some primers and powder. I am going to be loading all subsonic ammo to start out with. I have a few reloading manuals but wanted to see what you guys think the best primers and powder are for subsonic 9mm ammo.



Also, anyone have any good recipes or the recipe that Special K uses for their ammo (since it seems to be the quietest bought ammo)


Thanks,
Spencer

special K is N320 or N340 powder depending upon who you believe - I'm currently using 3.8 grains N320 and CCI or Winchester standard psitol primers under 147 grain plated bulets loaded to max COAL.

Any primers.

I use Tightgroup as it seems to be pretty clean and can be commonly found in stores.

TiteGroup for me and standard CCI small pistol, 3.2 grains. Works in both my XD9 with my Trident and my M11/9 and with MK9K.
Seems nice and clean and consistant. I can find it easier around than most other flavors. Actually picked up an 8lb tub at SAR East for around $12/pound. Felt like the good old days LOL

CCI primers because you can store about 5k where you could fit 1k of federal

CKOD wrote:CCI primers because you can store about 5k where you could fit 1k of federal

Amen to that. WTF is federal thinking?

--Break--

Spencer, try searching for "N320" and "N340" on this site. I did it a while back and found a lot of good info.

thanks guys thats what I needed to know, one more thing:


What's the difference in #1 1/2, #100, and #500 small pistol primers? Or really all I care about is which ones I need for 9mm subsonic



Thanks,
Spencer

N320 is good stuff but pricey and sometimes not available. I load my 9's with Bullseye, 231, or sometimes Clays. All you need is a small pistol primer.

3.8 grains of bullseye. It's great for subsonic. I run it in the Sig 226 and the M11. Both suppressed with the SWR Trident.

As far as primers, anything you can get your hands on.

All I know about primers is that Federal ones are often softer. The Winchester ones say for magnum or nonmagnum use... which means I'm not going to approach max pressures with them. It could just be total bullshit though.

Federal that I have used before would not fit thru Lee saftey prime
seems to be a known issue.

http://www.powdervalleyinc.com Has Wolf sp-mag and N320, for now

I use 3.3 of titegroup and 3.1 of VV n310 with a plated 147 @ 1.160" for my minor 9mm loads. The N310 load is a mouse fart even w/o a can.

Lots of stuff works for 9mm. I like 3.6g Bullseye w/ 147gr bullets. I use CCI primers but any small pistol primer should work.

Thanks guys now I have lots of options. I picked up 900 CCI primers that were in stock at my local bass pro tonight . First time I have seen them there ever, normally its just an empty shelf where all the primers would be. Just as cheap as Midway and no hazmat or shipping fees either. Didn't have any powder to fit my needs, I'm gonna check a few other places tomorrow locally to see if I can avoid shipping fees.


Thanks,
Spencer

Picked up 3 1lb bottle of Titegroup and another 1000 CCI small pistol primers for $98 locally today. They had another 3 bottles of Titegroup and another 5000 primers but I'm a college student and can only afford so much at a time (althrough I wanted to buy up all the primers).


About how many rounds are you guys getting out of a 1lb bottle of Titegroup?


Thanks,
Spencer

7000 grains per pound.

Rounding 3.8gr (what I use) to 4.0 even= 1,750 rounds per pound.

Thanks, one more thing. Any preferred bullets for running through a suppressor or will any 147gr FMJ or CMJ work well?




Thanks,
Spencer

Thanks, one more thing. Any preferred bullets for running through a suppressor or will?




Thanks,
Spencer

I run plated 147's without problems with my suppressors even FA.

I haven't had any problems with any plated I have purchased for 9mm subsonic loading. Berry's is the box closest to me that I'm currently dipping out of Western something or other was on the box I threw away.

Plated have worked well for me, but make sure you bell the case properly and don't shave or crush the plate.
I ran across a handful of rounds that had mangled the plate. I had to adjust the bell a bit (increased it just a little) to prevent the problem whil seating the bullet.

Also, plated bullets aren't all that great of a deal any more. My last order was for precision delta jacketed and they were cheaper than both berry's and rainier.

Otherwise, I run 3.8 grains of WW231 (for plated 147's) and I'm up to 4.0 gains for jacketed. I have used Remington primers and Winchester primers.

rsm688 wrote:thanks guys thats what I needed to know, one more thing:


What's the difference in #1 1/2, #100, and #500 small pistol primers? Or really all I care about is which ones I need for 9mm subsonic



Thanks,
Spencer

I believe those numbers may denote either a standard vs magnum primer. Not sure which is which though. This can be a problem when you're standing in the stock isle trying to decide which primer to buy. I don't know why Remington doesn't put the word "MAGNUM" on the appropriate primer box. Anyway, take a look in the Remington product guidebook at the store or online and you can figure out which is which. The specs for their loaded ammunition will specify which primer is used in which cartridge and then you can buy accordingly.

Obviously for 9mm, you're looking for non-mag primers. I don't have any more Remington's on hand to check for you.

rsm688 wrote:Thanks, one more thing. Any preferred bullets for running through a suppressor or will?




Thanks,
Spencer

Don't buy these: http://www.precisionbullets.com/

They'll lead the sh!t out of your can in short order. Although, when I called and talked to the owner of the business. He told me that he didn't really know for sure what they would do in a suppressor, but "thought" they would lead the can. I had planned on sending my Trident in to Liberty so I can service myself anyway, but don't plan on taking it apart often, because it's not that easy to get back together. (Tight fit). Unfortunately, I won't be shooting these through my can any more due to the amount of build-up inside. It's too bad too, because these bullets are in my opinion, a high quality product and shoot very well. They're just not suitable for a suppressor. I've also tried Extreme plated bullets and had poor success with them. This was my only experience with plated bullets and other brands may be better. I'll be shooting total metal case bullets from now own through my suppressor saving the cheap stuff for range use when I've got wear hearing protection anyway.

Stick with Total metal case (encapsulated) or else plated bullets (which typically cost about the same as jacketed bullets) In other words since you're going to be loading your own ammo, buy bullets that don't have an exposed lead base and you may never have to worry about the can getting dirty.

Complete metal jackets are what you are referring to when you say encapsulated right?



Thanks guys,
Spencer